City University of New York Basketball action invaded the Prudential Center on Monday afternoon as Baruch and Lehman squared off in their second meeting of the season, and for the first 30 minutes or so the Lightning was worthy of the big stage.

But despite the Lightning welcoming Louvinia Hayes and Jaleesa Gordon back to the lineup, it was the remaining ten minutes that proved to be Lehman's undoing in a 71-57 loss to the Bearcats.

Similar to the action in their first meeting, Baruch built an early lead, holding a 17-10 advantage with 12:44 remaining.

Similar to the action in their first meeting, Lehman mounted a charge. Baskets by Martinez, Taniefa Taylor, Hayes and De La Cruz highlighted a 12-4 run that put the blue and gold in front 22-21.

The teams traded hoops with Baruch's Karyn Purcell eventually grabbing the lead back for the Bearcats, 30-29, on a layup with just 21 seconds remaining. Lehman's Maquasia Campbell was able to score seconds before the horn sounded for the 31-30 halftime lead.

Neither the Bearcats nor the Lightning could pull away when play resumed as the first five minutes included four ties. In fact, no more than six points separated the teams through 10:24 of second half game action.

With Lehman trailing 46-40, Hayes canned a jumper and then dropped in two layups around a basket by Monique Salmon to keep the Lightning within two points at 48-46. A three-pointer by Purcell was answered by Martinez's jumper to cut Lehman's deficit to 51-48.

From that point forward, however, Baruch fashioned a 17-5 spurt that opened up its largest lead of the game, 69-53, with 1:52 left on the clock, effectively sealing the win and giving Baruch a sweep of the season series.

Folashade Akinde's game-high 19 points and 14 rebounds led a Bearcats' attack that included three other players in double figures – Purcell (16 points), Salmon (12 points) and Camille Voitot (11 points). Most importantly, Baruch rendered the Lightning's pressure defense nearly ineffective, turning the ball over only 13 times with Salmon posting a sterling six-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio.

For the Lightning, Hayes took her familiar position back at head of the Lehman pack with 16 points while Jaleesa Gordon turned in an exceptional first half on the backboards (10 rebounds) to finish with 10 points and 13 caroms. Martinez was the other Lightning player in double figures with 10 points. De La Cruz, who entered the game on fire over her last three contests averaging 29 points-per-game, managed eight points on the night.

The loss drops the Lightning to 10-8 on the season (4-4 CUNYAC) while the Bearcats improve to 15-4 (8-0 CUNYAC).

Lehman returns to action on Wednesday evening when it travels over the Goethals Bridge for a showdown with the College of Staten Island.